Stories of the Past
by MoonlightSpirit
Summary: Companion story to Inu Star Angel's story Every After. Zuko tells his son, Iroh, stories of how he and Iroh's mother, Katara, met. Iroh learns of the ups and downs of Zuko and Katara's relationship, their battles, and the moments that bought them together


**This story is a continuation of Inu Star Angel's story **_**Ever After **_**(which is great :) The italics in the beginning is directly from the fanfic. The rest is my original story. So here's **_**Stories of the Past.**_

_**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING THE STORY! VERY IMPORTANT: **_**The Iroh in this story is NOT Zuko's Uncle Iroh. He is Zuko and Katara's son. You may want to read Inu Star Angel's story **_**Ever After **_**before reading this because there is a major spoiler for that story at the end of this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

"_I never told you how your Mom and I met, did I?" Iroh shook his head, still slightly shocked. "You've learned about the war in you history class? We met one hundred years after it started, the day the Avatar, Aang, came back. At the start, we didn't like each other very much. In fact, we weren't on the same side…" And so Zuko began the story that had started it all._

"It started back in the South Pole," Zuko said to his and Katara's son, Iroh "Back then, it was not the glorious city it is today. It was just a small village on a block of ice with no more than twenty people living there."

"Mom was a commoner?" Iroh asked in surprise. He was sitting on the other side of his father's, Zuko, desk in Zuko's study. Zuko thought for a moment.

"You could say that," Zuko said, "Technically, she was a Princess since her father was chief of the tribe. Back then I was…a different man. Of course you've learned of how your grandfather banished and burned me at fourteen, ordering me not to return until I've found the Avatar." Iroh nodded.

"Well that's when I saw your mother for the first time," Zuko said with a small smile, "I saw her with the Avatar heading for her village and went there looking for him. She was so beautiful. Especially her eyes. You have her eyes Iroh." Iroh smiled at his father.

"From that moment on, your mother and I were enemies," Zuko said, "But I watched her grow. When I first saw her, she seemed so small and scared. But every time I met her, she was stronger, braver. And when I battled her at the Spirit Oasis in the Northern Water Tribe," Zuko chuckled softly, "She was like a totally different person. Powerful, brave, strong. She had the cutest smirk when she was able to trap me. And then, when she caught up with me after I had captured the Avatar later, she took me down in less than 10 seconds." At that point, Iroh burst out laughing.

"Dad, I'm sorry, but that's just pathetic," Iroh laughed, "10 seconds?" Iroh burst into fresh peals of laughter.

"We were in half a foot of snow in the middle of a blizzard," Zuko said, defending himself, "She was totally in her element."

"It was a while after that event that I saw her again," Zuko said, "I met her a few months later in an abandoned Earth Kingdom town, along with her brother, the Avatar, and her friend Toph. We had just faced your Aunt Azula."

"The crazy one?" Iroh asked.

"Not crazy," Zuko said, "Just…okay she was crazy. But at that moment, she had just attacked Uncle Iroh. You're mother offered to heal him, but I was so blinded by anger that I didn't want her anywhere near me. I nearly attacked her and her friends."

"After that I met her again in the Crystal Catacombs of Ba Sing Se," Zuko said, a warm smile crossing his face, "That was the first time we ever had a civil conversation. Well, at first she was mad at me, but she mentioned of how the Fire Nation took her mother away from her. And you remember I had lost my mother, you're Grandmother Ursa, to the Fire Nation too."

"Grandma Ursa?" Iroh said, his brow furrowing, "I don't remember her."

"She died a few weeks after the end of the war," Zuko said, sadness in his eyes as he recalled the memory, "I had finally found her in an Earth Kingdom town. She was on her deathbed when we met again, but she was so happy to see me. I wish you could have met her Iroh. She was so much like your mother. Kind, compassionate, loving, although not as feisty though."

"I heard mother was very different from the woman of the Fire Nation," Iroh said.

"She was," Zuko said, "She was very independent, feisty, outspoken, outgoing. She could have been mistaken for a Firebender with her temper." Zuko chuckled softly, "But as I said before, the Crystal Catacombs of Ba Sing Se is where your mother and had our first civil conversation. It was at that moment that she offered to heal my scar, with this special water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. But Uncle Iroh and the Avatar came bursting through the wall before anything happened. I still remember the anger I felt, seeing her in the Avatar's arms. And after that, like a fool, I joined Azula, thinking that somehow my father, your grandfather Ozai, would love me and accept me. That choice led to the near death of the Avatar and the beginning of your mother hating me." Zuko frowned slightly at the memory, but shook away the thought.

"It was about a month before I saw her again," Zuko said, "When I decided to join the Avatar's side in the war. The Avatar and her brother and friend, Toph, accepted me into their group with a bit of reluctance, but your mother…she was dead set against it. She only agreed because she thought that it would be best for the Avatar, especially since he needed a Firebending teacher, something that would not be easy to find."

"The first few days I was there, your mother totally ignored me," Zuko said, "Unless she wanted to yell at me. In fact, my first night there, she practically threatened my life. Then one day, she yelled at me on a beach and mentioned her mother again. So I went to her brother, your Uncle Sokka, to ask what happened to their mother. See, your mother had taken her anger about her mother's death and directed it to me. I found out her mother was killed by the leader of the Southern Raiders. So I helped your mother find him and get the closure she needed. From then on, she trusted me."

"You're mother was the one who helped me defeat your Aunt Azula at the end of the war," Zuko said, "And she healed me when Azula had hit me with lightning. If it wasn't for your mother, I wouldn't be alive today."

"After the end of the war, your mother became the Avatar's girlfriend," Zuko said, "And Mai was my girlfriend. But your mother thought that the Avatar was bit to childish for her taste and Mai…well she was just…blah. Emotionless. Not much intrigued her. She was the exact opposite of your mother. Your mother could find excitement in anything. Turtle ducks in a pond, clouds in the sky, children playing. Nothing bored her." Zuko smiled at the memory.

"After breaking up with the Avatar, your mother came to me for comfort," Zuko said, "I had just broken up with Mai, so your mother and I found comfort in each other. Eventually we got together and…well, you know how it goes from there. We were married and eventually, she was pregnant with you."

"And she died after giving birth to me," Iroh said sadly, looking down. Zuko could have sworn he saw tears shimmer in his son's eyes. Zuko stood up and walked around the desk, kneeling next to his son and wrapping his arms around him. Zuko felt his son's body shake with sobs as Iroh wrapped his arms around his father, clutching Zuko's robes.

"I never got to know her," Iroh sobbed into his father's shoulder, "But I still miss her." Zuko rubbed Iroh's back soothingly, feeling a tear slid down his own cheek.

"I miss her too," Zuko said, "But she's always with us. Always in our hearts." Iroh nodded, his tears soaking Zuko's robes.

"Dad, can we go to her grave?" Iroh asked through his tears. Zuko nodded. Zuko helped him up and kept his arm around Iroh's shoulders as they walked together to the palace graveyard, located at the back garden of the palace. The graveyard was huge and Katara's tomb was toward the middle. Zuko had the tomb custom made for her. It was made of a silver-blue stone and carved into it were elegant water tribe and fire nation symbols. Zuko opened the stone doors, revealing the ocean blue coffin carved with ocean animals and water tribe symbols in the middle of the tomb. Iroh slowly walked toward the coffin.

"Would you like me to leave you alone here?" Zuko asked Iroh.

"If you don't mind," Iroh said. Zuko nodded.

"I'll be in my study," Zuko said before closing the stone door behind him. Iroh walked over to the coffin and brushed his hand across the engraving which said:

_Here lies Fire Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe_

_Master Waterbender_

_Waterbending teacher of Avatar Aang_

_Loving friend, sister, lover and mother_

Iroh kneeled next to the coffin.

"I miss you mom," he whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks. Iroh didn't know how long he stayed there, but eventually, he fell asleep and had a dream.

_Begin Dream_

_White light surrounded Iroh. He looked around, panicking, not sure where he was or how he got there. Then he saw her. His mother. He recognized her from the portraits of her in the palace. She was dressed in a pure white strapless gown, her dark brown wavy hair was down, her ocean blue eyes, just like her son's, sparkled. She had a wide smile on her face and tears shimmering in her eyes._

"_Iroh," she whispered, "My son." She enveloped Iroh in her arms and he hugged her back._

"_I miss you so much," Iroh said softly._

"_I miss you too," Katara said, "You've grown up so much. I remember when you were just a baby." They stood there for a while, just holding each other._

"_Let's talk," Katara said, sitting on the ground, "I want to hear all about your life." Iroh sat across from her and they began to talk. He told her of school and training and an Earth Kingdom girl, Junisa he had met on a trip with Zuko. Iroh told her of how he had a crush on the Junisa and that she was coming to visit him at the palace next week. Katara listened eagerly to Iroh's stories. They sat for what seemed like hours. Eventually, the white room started turning a royal blue._

"_I must go," Katara said, standing, "The sun is rising."_

"_Do you have to leave?" Iroh asked standing. Katara smiled warmly and kiss Iroh's forehead._

"_Yes," Katara said, "But I'm always with you, no matter where you go. Here's a piece of me to remember me by. I lost it long ago and the spirits found it and gave it to me after I had died. I want you to have it." Katara put something round, smooth and cool on a silk ribbon in Iroh's hand._

"_I love you Iroh, my son," Katara said. Then she disappeared._

_End Dream_

Iroh jerked awake, looking around. The sun was rising outside the window. He had been there all night. A red blanket was draped over his shoulders. His father must have come back and put it around him. Iroh looked down at the object in his hand that his mother had given him. To his surprise, there it was. Something that he had seen his mother wear in most of the portraits of her. It was her mother's betrothal necklace, the necklace that had belonged to his Grandmother Kya and great-grandmother Kanna. Iroh bought the necklace to his lips and kissed it.

"I love you mom," he whispered, clutching the necklace and wiping away a stray tear as he got up, tightening the blanket around him, and walked out of the tomb. But he could have sworn that as he left, he heard his mother's voice say, "I love you too, my son."

**There's **_**Stories of the Past. **_**I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


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